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Hit-and-run leads to drug arrest

An Athens man was found in possession of a large amount of marijuana after he was arrested Monday night in connection with a hit-and-run traffic accident, Athens-Clarke police said.

The accident happened on Weatherly Woods Drive near Winterville, where a car driven by 27-year-old Michael Bernard Colbert rear-ended another car, police said.

The other motorist told police the car that struck her vehicle drove off onto Weatherly Court nearby, where officers found a car with heavy front-end damage.

The damaged car was registered to a woman, but a computer check revealed a history of it being driven by Colbert, who lived at his grandparents’ home on Weatherly Woods Drive, police said.

The officer found Colbert outside the home, standing next to another car occupied by Raheen Ali Strowder, and from which wafted a strong odor of marijuana, police said.

Colbert was detained for the hit-and-run accident, police said, and backup officers arrived to help conduct a search of Strowder’s car and both men.

Police said they found eight large bags of marijuana in the trunk of Strowder’s car and several pain pills. Also, each man had a large amount of cash.

Colbert and Strowder, 30, of Lombardy Drive, were charged with possession with intent to distribute marijuana, police said, and Colbert was additionally charged with leaving the scene of an accident, driving on a suspended license and following another vehicle too closely.